Staying at Domaine Madeleine: a perfect Olympic Peninsula BNB

It’s been awhile since we’ve shared any details about accommodations while we travel. Well, we’ve stayed someplace now that we must share: Domaine Madeleine in Port Angeles, Washington is the most awesome and perfect bed and breakfast that we have visited. It’s the Olympic Peninsula BNB that puts others to shame. Well, we need to stay at more bed and breakfasts around here to be able to say that for certain, but it’s pretty amazing.

You know that we typically enjoy staying places that have family friendly accommodations and are a bit extra nice as elevate our travel experience so Domaine Madeleine was just that. It’s not everyday that bed and breakfast and family-friendly go together. And if you don’t know Port Angeles or the Olympic Peninsula, well, you’ll see why a family-friendly bed and breakfast is so important to find.

The perfect Olympic Peninsula BNB

So, just forgive us in advance because we’re going to gush just a bit about Domaine Madeleine. No, we weren’t paid to blab about it, but it’s just such a beautiful and comfortable place, we’re going to share how much we love it.

Locale of Domaine Madeleine

Located between Sequim and Port Angeles, Domaine Madeleine is in one of the most overlooked areas of the Olympic Peninsula. Most people are heading to the Olympic Peninsula because they want to get out to the beaches of Olympic National Park (just like you see in Twilight movies) or people are heading to one of the beautiful lodges within the National Park as well. Sequim and Port Angeles kind of seem to be drive-thru towns that you don’t stop in unless you need snacks or gas, but each one has its own culture and attractions and each is a great destination for couples or family travel.

This perfect little Olympic Peninsula bed and breakfast is located on a street that should just be titled B&B Drive. I think we passed four other bed and breakfasts on the way to Domaine Madeleine. Whether your goal is hiking up in the mountains or going crazy at the lavender farms Domaine Madeleine is in the perfect spot for you. Or heck, you could even just stay there and relax inside or outside for an entire weekend and nobody would be the wiser.

Accommodations at this Olympic Peninsula BnB

Domaine Madeleine has several different suites available. We can only tell you about our special suite that we were in, the Hoh Rainforest suite, because Domaine Madeleine was booked up for the other rooms while we were there. Our suite was perfect for family travel though, which is so amazing to find in a bed and breakfast setting.

We had the main room which had the king size bed, floor to ceiling fireplace, a sitting area, and a dining area, as well as access to the lawn which overlooked the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and then we had a French-doored sitting room as well which had a very nice pull-out sofa sleeper for the kids. We also had a private bathroom, which is a total score if you are frequent bed and breakfast visitor.

Tip: when booking a room/suite, view the rooms and read the descriptions to find the accommodations that are best for you and your travel companions. BNBs are a very cooperative type of lodging, so book what you’ll use and need so others can book amazing stays as well.

If you’ve been following our blog for some time then you know that we don’t dig too deeply into specific amenities that different properties have. We did mention when we stayed at the Sleeping Lady Resort in Leavenworth, Washington that we loved the bed sheets and even took a picture of the label. Well, Domaine Madeleine really trumps the Olympic Peninsula bed and breakfast world by having the same type of sheets as our favorite eastern Washington resort. Comphy sheets is the brand and we are in love with them. You’ll never find softer and more sleepable sheets on the face of the planet. Yes, the bed was completely wonderful as well, but it was the fact that they used Comphy sheets that sold us on having an amazing night sleep.

Note: Even before we saw the label on the sheets both Chris and I said they were the most comfortable sheets ever and I just knew exactly what they were, and lo and behold I was right!

Other wonderful aspects of this awesome Olympic Peninsula BnB were the common areas (and DVD collection such as Nell, Powder, Twins… OMG), outdoor space, which includes gardens, benches, outdoor art, a fire pit, deck areas and more, and the experience of being in a wonderfully relaxing, comfortable environment. Like I said, it’s perfect.

Breakfast at Domaine Madeleine

Okay confession: while we were at Domaine Madeleine we didn’t actually do the full-service breakfast. They had it arranged for us but due to our plans of making it up to Hurricane Ridge to take the kids to the snow they scrapped our fancy breakfast to make it easier for us. And they packed us the most elaborate breakfasts to go.

When you stay at Domaine Madeleine you have two breakfast options: you can either have a boxed breakfast which they will prepare and place in the refrigerator for you or you can have a full-service breakfast in one of their dining areas. The full-service breakfast looked absolutely beautiful which I know because I spied on people who were taking part. It’s smelled too good to stay in our room eating fruit with the kids, so I just had to peek. The table was set so perfectly and it was clear the other guests were having an amazing time. I kind of wish that we would not have skipped out on our breakfast in favor of snow. Oh well. #LessonLearned

Our boxed breakfasts were amazing though. Each morning they were a little different but we were sure to have low-fat Greek yogurt, granola, some pastries of some sort, fresh fruit, cheeses, juice and coffee, and mints to follow. We also had some awesome Pacific Northwest smoked salmon and some cured meats. You know we love our salmon in the Pacific Northwest and that’s always a guaranteed way to win our hearts.

The flexibility of our Olympic Peninsula bed and breakfast hosts really made our stay excellent. Stephen and Chris made themselves available for whatever we needed including a late check-in and varying travel plans. Thank goodness to find a bed and breakfast that understands how travel with kids works. LOL.

Note: one of our little dudes has some severe food allergies. We let them know and they were great about providing excellent options for him as well as labeling everything that he couldn’t have. Such good hosts!

Booking a stay at Domaine Madeleine

Now you know how amazing this awesome Port Angeles bed and breakfast is so let me tell you the bummer: they do an absolutely incredible job and people know it so they book pretty far in advance. Like with any sort of stellar accommodations in Washington State, know that booking in the shoulder seasons and outside of winter holidays is a great way to secure a room.

Note: if you don’t know what a “shoulder season” is, it’s the time between the end of summer travel and the beginning of holiday travel, and then that spot in between the holidays and spring breaks.

Don’t let Domaine Madeleine’s popularity be any sort of deterrent in trying to get a stay here. If you want to visit, just reach out to the hosts and ask when you can do it. The website is super easy as well, but working directly with the hosts you can find a time that’s right for you whether it’s midweek or a weekend. Trust me, it’s worth figuring out.

What to do on the Olympic Peninsula

We’ve shared plenty of ideas and amazing destinations within the Olympic Peninsula. Since it’s where we’re from it already holds our hearts which is why we share it so frequently. But in case you’ve missed it, let’s give you some ideas for what to do on the O.P.

Tip: check out our Puget Sound itinerary for more ideas of how to incorporate time on the Olympic Peninsula into a trip to Seattle. It’s doable and completely worth it.

Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula is chalked full of nature and beautiful destinations. The perfect BNB, Domaine Madeleine, is an ideal home base to explore Washington’s coastal mountain range.

Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park is, of course, the main attraction on the Olympic Peninsula. If you need to #FindYourPark Olympic National Park probably has what you need. Hiking at Hurricane Ridge or visiting the snow in the winter, exploring the Hoh Rainforest and coming face-to-face with Roosevelt elk, or just enjoying the amazing scenic beauty of Lake Crescent, you’ll have plenty of things to do relating to Olympic National Park.

Tip: if you’re camping in Olympic National Park, get a break from being dirty and moss-covered by splitting up your time in the woods with nice accommodations. That’s how we’re able to do so many National Parks with kids and never get bitter. 🙂

Cape Flattery

It seems like we’re always telling people to go to Cape Flattery because it’s so wonderfully remote and there’s nobody there. If half of the people listen to us there’s going to be so many people at Cape Flattery we’re going to have to find a new perfect and beautiful secluded destination to start pointing people towards. But for realz, Cape Flattery is the northwestern-most tip of the Olympic Peninsula and it’s about an hour and a half drive from Port Angeles. The road is winding and goes along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and then ends in the most gorgeous and perfect slice of nature in all of Washington State. Whales, puffins, and seals of all kinds can be seen at Cape Flattery. There’s even a lighthouse (that you can’t access but you can dream of visiting). It’s just beautiful.

Tip: the hike to the tip of Cape Flattery is really easily, but it’s not wheelchair accessible by any means. There are picnic areas in the forest there, so take advantage of them!

Cape Flattery, North Westernmost point of the Continental USA

The Dungeness Spit

I’m not sure when but somehow this summer I’m going to make Chris hike out to the Dungeness Spit Lighthouse with me. It’s five and a half miles (nearly 9 km) from the trailhead all the way out to the lighthouse which is out in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. You have to hike along a sandbar for a ridiculous distance before you can get there, but once you’re there, well, it’s a lighthouse, which is basically all you need to say to me to get me to go someplace.

Actually if you set things up correctly you can arrange to stay at the Lighthouse for a short amount of time and help maintain it. I would love to do that, but I think that’s a one-sided travel plan in our household. In the meantime walking on the spit and exploring the crazy collection of driftwood, dried kelp, and the best skipping rocks ever is a super fun family activity that’s perfect to do on a sunny afternoon.

Tip: bundle up if you’re heading to the Dungeness Spit, as it gets cold!! There’s nothing stopping the wind straight off the Pacific Ocean from getting you.

Port Townsend, Port Angeles and Sequim

The towns of Port Angeles, Port Townsend, and Sequim are all worth a visit. PA and Sequim are going to be the easiest to visit while you’re staying at Domaine Madeleine because it’s located directly between them, but adding a trip over to PT is easy as well.

Port Townsend is probably the cutest town in all of Washington state. Or maybe Rosalyn is, I don’t know. Built mostly in the late 1800s, it’s a beautiful Victorian seaport and it’s maintained its history and Victorian charm for over 130 years. It’s got a great food scene and even some of the quirkiest art festivals and musicians you might find.

Port Angeles is where we go when we want to head out for some whale watching. PA is farther west than the other two big towns so it’s closer to the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca which is where most of the whales migrate into Puget Sound via. This is also where you’ll go to catch the Black Ball Ferry up to Victoria BC. And we love Victoria so we’re going to tell everybody that they need to go there.

Tip: Victoria, BC can be an easy day trip if you’re staying at Domaine Madeleine, so why not go have some tea and watch for orcas?

Sequim is known for two things: its lavender farms and festival, and then also for being the driest place in Washington State. I know, it seems weird that the driest place in Washington State is two hours from the wettest place in Washington state but it’s true. Due to the rain shadow effect over the Olympic Mountains Sequim gets less rain than any other part of our gorgeous homeland. That doesn’t mean that it’s always sunny, but there’s less chance of rain here than other places. Oh yeah, the lavender. From shops along downtown Sequim’s main drag to farms and other random stands you’ll be able to get any type of lavender or lavender product you could ever dream of. It’s like Provence but in Washington.

See? Booking to stay at Domaine Madeleine, the most wonderful Olympic Peninsula BNB, it’s something you need to add to your travel plans for the year. The summer is great because the weather is incredible and you can do more outdoor activities than in the winter. The stillness of the winter though, including beautiful sunrises and sunsets, really, it’s our favorite time to spend on the Olympic Peninsula. Domaine Madeleine was a wonderful place to get away with our family and they were such gracious hosts. We were so thankful they welcomed us in and created a wonderful escape from our busy lives.